good morning. toe to toe. president obama and governor romney clash in a highly charged confrontational debate >> mr. president, have you looked at your pension. >> no, i don't look at my pension. it's not as big as yours so it doesn't take as long. >> the president has tried, but his policies haven't worked. >> what governor romney said just isn't true. >> but did either candidate land a knockout blow? we'll ask their running mates, vice president joe biden and congressman paul ryan today, wednesday, october 17th. 2012. from nbc news, this is a special edition of "today,"

decision 2012, with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. and good morning, welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. i'm matt lauer. >> good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie. the only thing missing from last night's debate was the boxing gloves, maybe a commentator because it had all the makings of a prize fight. president obama and mitt romney trading jabs and then circling around each other and getting in each other's faces. i don't know about you, found it to be a little intense, a little cringe-inducing, hard to watch at times. >> not at all like the first debate. the president much more engaged and argumentive. romney standing his ground. how is all of this playing out? headlines from across the country. "new york times," rivals bring bare fists to rematch. "washington post" says obama, romney aggressive in rematch and "the chicago tribune," energized

obama goes on defensive and the "dallas morning news" says obama brings heat in second debate, but did he sacrifice like act? >> for more on this let's go to white house correspondent and political director chuck todd. had a late night. >> i liked all the photographs that they all captured. all the finger-points, man. pointing each other fingers. like debates with fireworks featuring two candidates who really don't seem to care for one another barack obama and mitt romney delivered big time. the two candidates debated as both their political careers depended on it because, well, it did. >> not true, governor romney. >> how much did you cut? >> the debate confrontational from the start as president obama and governor romney literally circled each other like boxers in the ring. >> how much did you cut licenses and permits on federal lands and waters? >> governor romney, here's what we did. there were a whole bunch of oil companies. >> i had a question and the question was how much did you cut them by? >> you want me to answer a question. happy to answer the question. >> mr. president, have you looked at your pension?

have you looked at your pension? mr. president, have you looked at your pension? >> you know, i don't look at my pension. it's not as big as yours. >> let me -- >> president obama's advisers promised their candidate would be more aggressive tuesday night, and mr. obama delivered. >> what governor romney said just isn't true. governor romney doesn't have a five-point plan. he has a one-point plan. >> reporter: the president also benefitted from many questions posed by the so-called undecided voters covering issues near and dear to his liberal base, from immigration, to pay inequalities in the workplace allowing mr. obama to talk about the first bill he signed into law. >> the lily ledbetter bill, so we fix that had. that's the example of the kind of advocacy we need >> i went to a number of women's groups and said can you help us find folks and they brought us whole binders full of women. >> reporter: on several questions one candidate pounced when the other stumbled. mr. obama was asked by a 2008 supporter why he deserved another four years. >> well, we've gone through a

tough four years. there's no doubt about it. the point is the commitments i've made, i've kept, and those that i haven't been able to keep, it's not for lack of trying, and we're going to get it done in a second term. >> i think you know better. i think you know that these last four years haven't been so good, as the president just described, and that you don't feel like you're confident that the next four years will be much better either. >> reporter: romney struggled on how he'd be different than president bush. >> president bush and i are different people, and these are different times, and that's why my five-point plan is so different than what he would have done. >> there are differences between governor romney and george bush, but they are not on economic policy. in some ways he's gone to a more extreme place when it comes to social policy, and i think that's a mistake. >> reporter: the most memorable moment, when the debate turned to foreign policy and the terrorist attacks in libya. >> there was no demonstration involved. it was a terrorist attack, and it took a long time for that to be told to the american people.

whether there was some misleading or whether we just didn't know what happened, i think you have to ask yourself why didn't we know five days later when the ambassador to the united nations went on tv to say that this was a demonstration? how could we have not known. >> reporter: mr. obama fired back staring down his opponent. >> the day after the attack, governor, i stood in the rose garden, and i told the american people and the world that we were going to find out exactly what happened, that this was an act of terror, and i also said that we're going to hunt down those who committed this crime. >> reporter: and when mr. romney tried to challenge the president he was the ended up appearing rattled. >> i think it's interesting the president said something which is that on the day after the attack he went in the rose garden and said that this was an act of terror. you said in the rose garden the day after the attack it was an act of terror? it was not a spontaneous demonstration, is that what

you're saying. >> please proceed, governor. >> i want to make sure we get that for the record because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in benghazi an act of terror. >> get the transscript. >> reporter: in fact, here's what the transcript does have the president saying. no acts of terror will ever shake this resolve of the great nation but romney seemed rattled that the president had used the phrase acts of terror. after the debate romney aides insisted while the phrase was used the administration spent days misleading the public on what sparked the debate in the first place. they will debate this. the next debate was on foreign policy. that was an interesting moment. >> very nuanced. a lot of fact checks on it. i had had a chance to speak with vice president joe biden after the debate and began by asking him whether the president had repaired the damage from his lackluster performance in the first debate. >> i think president obama was absolutely at the top of his game last night, and i also think that he was able to

clearly draw a picture between a future under obama and a future under romney, and the thing that amazed me the most was even after three debates, his two and my one, there is still not a single specific in the romney $5 trillion tax plan. i mean, everything -- everything is sketchy. there's no direct answers to any questions, and i think it's becoming clearer and clearer to the american people that there's a fair amount of rhetoric but not much substance, and i suspect, savannah, that's because the president was right. they really do mirror the policies of george bush on the economy, and they don't want to talk about it. >> is the president's strategy here to beat romney by disqualifying him in the minds of voters? >> no, no. the president's objective is saying and lay out clearly the choices, not let people run away from what they have been saying for 13 years or 14 years in the case of congressman ryan and his

budgets as well as not letting governor romney run away from what he really intends to do. >> at what point do you think the president compellingly and persuasively articulated what he will do in the next four years, not defending his record from the last four. >> no, no. >> but a forward looking agenda? >> i think he compellingly did that when he asked the gentleman who said i voted for you last time but i'm not as optimistic, and he laid out why he should be optimistic, and he laid out why things were changing and why they will continue to change, when he talked about manufacturing, he talked about education. he talked about high-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs. he talked about lining them up with the community colleges to generate growth. he talked about insourcing. i think that -- he talked about tax cuts for the middle class and why that will grow. look, the basic fundamental difference we have the president laid out extremely well, but one of the things that this is about is that if the middle class

doesn't have any money to spend, if they are not getting the breaks, then the economy doesn't grow. >> you were watching this debate closely. i wondered if you noticed what a lot of people noticed, a moment when the candidates seemed to circle each other, getting in each other's faces a little bit. you've been around politics a long time. have you ever seen anything like that? >> well, actually, i have. i don't know that i've seen a presidential debate, but the forum lent itself to that, and i thought it was a real moment. i thought it gave, you know, i really thought the forum was a great forum for both of them to try to make their case, and so when they were kind of circling each other, it was like, okay, come on, man, let's level with each other here. >> let me ask you about libya. the president was asked who it was that denied requests for additional security to the consulate in benghazi and why. the president did not directly answer that question, so i'll put it to you. >> well, the answer to the question is that's why this

full-blown investigation is going on. i answered the question in my debate where the president and i were aware of the request and i honestly said no, we were not. secretary clinton confirmed that this never got to us, and what the secretary pointed out under law she is required, we are required to have a commission that is headed up by one of the leading diplomats of our time, tom pickering, a republican stains's admiral mullen, and they will get to the bottom of this. it's required as a matter of law. what kind of requests came in, when did they come in, where did it go? how was it handled, and -- and as the president made clear in his answer, when governor romney kept trying to politicize this thing, he made it clear that the president has even a keener interest than anyone else. i knew stevens. he worked on the foreign -- the ambassador. he worked on the foreign relations committee for dick lugar when i was the ranking member. the president knew him and knew

his family. this is something we want to get to the bottom of to make sure that something like this never happens again. >> before i let you go, i have to ask you about your debate. as you know, a lot of people noticed your demeanor. when not answering a question, let's put it this way, you seemed to be having a good time. have you watched back tape of that debate, and would you do it the same way all over again? >> well, i think, you know, you can always improve. one of the things in a two-minute response and a four-minute format, you know, some of the things that were said were absolutely incredulous. it was unbelievable some of the responses i was getting, so the answers, he's a good man. he's a solid guy. i like him. i wasn't laughing at him. i was laughing at some of the answers that were coming forward. >> mr. vice president, thank you for your time this morning. >> thank you. >> we appreciate it. >> thank you very much. >> congressman paul ryan is mitt romney's running mate. congressman, good morning to you. nice to have you here. >> good morning, matt.

>> yeah. i'm not going to ask you who won. i think that's too easy for you, but a lot of the reporting said the president was the aggressor and may have won back some of the momentum lost after the first debate. would you agree with that? >> well, he clearly changed his tactic. they said that he would change his tactic but his answers didn't change. he didn't offer new idea about how the next four years would be any different than the last four years. the reason why i think mitt romney won this debate is because he gave the country a very clear choice and a very clear vision for about how we have a leader that will create jobs, grow the economy and get people back to work. look, it's not going well right now for our economy. it's not going well right now for the middle class. mitt romney offered people a very concrete vision about how he's got the experience, the knowledge to get people back to work to grow the economy. that's why i think he won this debate. >> you and mitt romney want to cut marginal tax rates 20% across the board. you don't want to add to the deficit. you don't want to raise taxes on the middle class.

a voter last night asked governor romney for specifics about which deductions would go away, and governor romney did not answer with specifics. the president jumped on that. vice president biden with savannah just jumped on that. i've looked back at your interviews, congressman, over the last couple of months on this subject. do you not offer specifics. why? >> look, first of all, six independent studies showed that you can do exactly as we are suggesting. second of all, what mitt romney learned as a republican governor of a democratic state and what i've learned in getting bipartisan legislation moving is that you don't go to congress and say here's all of our details, take it or leave it. you say this is my framework. let's lower tax rates across the board, close loopholes for high-income people, make sure middle income taxpayers are protected. >> congress, where's the leadership, and you're a numbers guy? >> right. and here's what i know, matt.

if you say to congress take it or leave it, here's my plan, my way or the highway, you don't get things done. look, i understand that's how the president operates. i understand that that's what they did the first two years they came in with one-party rule. we don't plan on governing like that, matt. we plan on reaching across the aisle and finding consensus. the good news is there are democrats who agree with us. >> right. >> lowering tax rates, broadening the tax base and here's what mitt romney did say. you can have a number for the middle class to use, whichever deductions they think are important to them to protect them from tax increases. >> he said $25,000. last night he offered possibly 50,000 in the first debate. he's used the number 17,000. all i'm asking is as you're asking undecided voters -- >> that's right. >> -- to close the deal for you here, don't those voters have a right to know exactly what they are getting? >> they have a right to know our bottom lines. there are three bottom lines. we're not going to raise the dev dit. not going to raise taxes on

middle class taxpayers or raise the share of the tax burden borne by the higher income people but this is a plan -- this tax reform plan, this structure doing what we say, that creates about 7 million jobs right there in and of itself. that's a pretty good juxtaposition against the president's tax increase on small businesses which will cost us over 700,000 jobs. >> on the subject of libya, i want to talk about it, not the exchange. i think there's been a lot said about that this morning, but it led to another interesting exchange where the president firmly and pointedly chastised governor romney for politicizing a tragedy like this, a national tragedy. the father of ambassador stevens said, quote, it would be really abhorrent to make this into a campaign issue. so i want your response not to the president but to the father of ambassador stevens. >> well, i would first say to him i think they had their memorial service yesterday, that we mourn his loss. this man did so much to serve our country, as did the other three americans who lost their

lives, but what we owe chris stevens what, we owe these americans who gave their lives are to make sure that we get to the bottom of this so we can prevent something like that from happening again. that's what's so troubling about this story is that as the facts have come out it doesn't speak well as to how the administration has handled this. we know that they asked for more security. they didn't get it. we know that our marines guarding our ambassador in paris but not benghazi where there's al qaeda. >> weren't both sides guilty of a lapse of judgment on this story? >> say that one more time. >> weren't both sides guilty of a rush to judgment in the immediate aftermath of this attack? >> well, i don't think that they should have sent their u.n. ambassador out five days later to say that this was from a spontaneous mob reacting to a youtube video. i don't think the president should have gone to the u.n. and talked about the youtube video and talk two weeks before saying it was a terror attack. even the state department didn't

back up that story. me, mitt romney and myself and republicans in congress were saying let's get to the bottom of this to prevent something like this from happening again. >> let me end on a lighter note, on november 17th, a week or so after the election, wisconsin will play ohio state in a football game. i want you to tell the people of ohio who is going to win that game. >> they spoiled us last year. we spoiled them the year before, and janna and i were at that game, it really depends on who has the better record is going to lose because that's what happens. >> who is going to win? tell the people of ohio. >> it depends on who has the better record. it always depends on who has the better record. it's -- it's in madison this year, home field advantage works well, but if we're doing better, they will beat us and if they have a better record they will beat them. that's how it always goes between the badgers and the buckeyes. how is that for an answer?

>> that's a terrible answer. that's okay. i'm out of time. you're lucky on that one. congressman ryan, thanks for your time this morning. >> thanks, man. >> who new the toughest question would be about sports. let's get the morning's other top stories from natalie. good morning, everyone. a deadly shooting at one of the busiest border crossings between the united states and canada has investigators searching for a motive. officials say a man in a van with washington state plates tried to enter canada. they say he shot and wounded a canadian border guard, then took his own life. a suicide car bomber attacked a joint u.s. afghan military base in eastern afghanistan today. at least 45 afghan soldiers were wounded. a spokesman says there were no nato casualties. 2,000 people attended a memorial service last night for jessica ridgeway. the colorado fifth grader who was kidnapped on her way to school almost two weeks ago and murdered. police are still looking for her killer. members of congress are asking the justice department to investigate the massachusetts

drug-maker at the center of a nationwide meningitis outbreak. criminal investigators from the fda were at the plant of the new england compounding center tuesday. officials say more than 230 cases of meningitis in 15 states are linked to steroid shots distributed by the pharmaceutical company. at least 15 people have died. on wall street, investors are looking ahead to the holiday shopping season. cnbc's mary thompson are at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. good morning, marry. >> good morning, natalie. the national retail federation estimates on average consumers will spend just over $749 this holiday shopping season. that 1.2% increase from last year, the smallest in four years. apple expected to unveil its ipad mini next tuesday, two days before rival microsoft begins selling its own tablet called the surface, and after another day of triple-digit gains the dow sits within striking distance of a five-year high. back to you. >> all right. mary thompson at the new york stock exchange, thanks.

think you've got a bug problem? a small county in utah has been invaded by a plague of insects called box elder bugs. folks have not seen this many before. the good news is they don't bite, and they usually disappear when winter arrives. so gross. former reality show star kate gosselin has lost her job as a blogger for coupon cabin. the company's ceo blamed what he called a series of recent events which he said made it clear that kate is simply not a good fit. he did though wish her all the best. meanwhile kate tweeted tuesday that she's super busy and she has no worries. it's 7:20 right now. back over to esna, matt and al. >> still itching from your bug story. >> makes your skin crawl. >> it does. >> mr. roker, check of the weather. >> all right. got a big system out in the mid-section of the country upper level low stacked over a surface low pressure system, and that's bringing a risk of strong storms in the mid-mississippi river valley, rain in the upper mississippi river valley. behind the system windy conditions.

we'll take a look in the next half hour. beautiful day along the eastern seaboard. hit and miss thundershowers down through southern florida. sunny skies and warm in southern california. 91 degrees in downtown l.a. .a >> that's your latest weather. savannah? >> all right, al. thank you. just ahead, a high school coach stepped down after being named in that sex scandal in maine. now with more names to come out, some residents are saying enough. we'll be there live. plus, a rare and close-up look at the "costa concordia" still sitting off the italian coast

ten months after its wreck. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

still ahead, ethel kennedy opens up in a rare and revealing interview for a new documentary on her life. we'll talk about it with her daughters. and a boy ordered to move to another school because of his genetic makeup. we'll explain after a check of your local news. looks like your bags didn't make it. we'll send them to your hotel. [ sad music playing ] this is fun. [ sad music continues ] [ knock on door ] your bags, sir. thanks. both: finally! one taste, and you'll understand. enjoy delicious dunkin' donuts coffee anytime. best vacation ever! pick some up where you buy groceries. america runs on dunkin'. ♪ ooh, yeah, ooh-ooh, yeah

♪ ooh, yeah, ooh-ooh, yeah ♪ i love ya ♪ ooh, yeah, ooh-ooh, yeah [ female announcer ] introducing new special k popcorn chips. with 28 buttery chips for 120 calories, you can bring the flavor of the movies home and still stay on track. freedom to enjoy. what will you gain when you lose? find them in the cracker aisle. yep...doh. [ boy ] slurpably fun and a good source of calcium. dads who get it, get go-gurt. zach canton's dad gave him a pep talk about asking out the cutest girl in algebra. the metcalfe brothers had a staring contest to see who'd get the last bite of dessert. four old roommates debated whether asia was or wasn't the greatest '80s supergroup ever. and a surprise birthday party caught amanda sullivan

totally off-guard. all over delicious entrees like new smoky chipotle chicken fajitas from our $20 dinner for two. chili's -- more life happens here. >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in a baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. ocean city's police chief is treading maryland for florida. she will become the first female police chief in sarasota, florida. she is a fourth generation police officer who started her baltimore career in 1985. she takes her new post in general refers. >> -- on january 1.

>> let's bring you up-to-date on howard county in 95. you can see the and results, 17 miles per hour. delays on southbound 295, if that is what you're considering as an alternate. route 1 as your alternate this morning. prior to 295, disabled vehicle there. back up on southbound 795 out of owings mills. 95 southbound of white marsh, expect to be delayed on the beltway northeast. honeygo boulevard, one more accident of note. northeast corner as delays developed there. >> 36 at frederick, 41 in

jarrettsville. there is a little rain in the ohio valley. during the day today, it will be just fine. after the july stock, we will make it into the upper 60s. then it cools off going into the weekend.

you are looking live at the picturesque town of kennebunk, maine, a town that is in turmoil this morning as it deals with a growing prostitution scandal. a lot of people there are not happy that an air alleged client list is now being made public. a local high school coach has stepped down, and another man who says he's not the guy on the list is furious because he actually shares the same name as someone who was. we will be there live in a moment. 7:30 new on a wednesday morning. it's the 17th of october, 2012. i'm savannah guthrie alongside matt lauer. also ahead, when you go to a restaurant a lot of people try to order healthy options, but some choices may actually doom your diet like this chicken sandwich. it has the calorie equivalent of

52 cups of buttered popcorn. david is always a guy that can ruin your day will be here in just a little while to give you a couple of other very alarming examples. >> no fun at all. and then ethel kennedy opens up about her life, a rare and reveal interview in a new documentary from her youngest daughter rory who is here along with her sister to tell us about it. let's begin with new developments in the case of a zumba instructor accused of running a prostitution ring out-of-her studio. nbc's katy tur is in kennebunk with more on this. katy, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. 21 names are now out there, publicly shaming those men for allegedly paying for sex with a local fitness instructor, but some around here are saying enough is enough, that this sort of humiliation frankly isn't fair. 21 men, 21 families, 21 lives potentially changed forever as

the fallout grows from the partial release of alexis wright's alleged client list, lawyers for the accused are on the offensive. >> the way these guys have been treated is outrageous and i'm embarrassed for the judicial system. >> reporter: gary coleman represents two of the men named. one was until monday a local high school athletic coach who has since stepped down because of the scandal. >> it's a scarlet letter to the worst effect. there's no other way you can put it other than the damage has been done, and there was no reason to rush to get those names out like kennebunk did. there was absolutely no reason. >> reporter: alexis wright and her business partner mark strong have both pleaded not guilty to dozens of counts of prostitution and promoting prostitution. prosecutors say wright, the local zum ba instructor, sold sx out of her dance studio and her lawyer says her client has been portrayed as a monster. >> has been thrust into the public eye and is basically

having the worst moment of her life play out on national television, but it's not the only thing that defines her. >> reporter: for the first time strong has released a statement denying all of the charges, writing i have never had sex with her for money. i am a businessman, and i loaned her money to start a legitimate zumba dance studio with the usual promissory notes at commercial interest rates, and she paid back those loans. he also says i did not promote or participate in her business. meanwhile, more than 100 alleged johns there's controversy with just how the first names were released no. middle initials, ages or addresses were disclosed. this man says he shares the same name as one of the alleged johns, and for him the past two days have been a nightmare. >> felt like getting hit in the face with a frying pan, and they didn't even have the courtesy to warm up the pan. >> reporter: 21 names down, dozens to go. all kennebunk can do is wait. now people around here have been

talking about this since february when the allegations first surfaced. now the national media is here, papers from around the world are here, and that list is out there for everybody to see. locals are getting a little bit tired of all the attention. savannah is this. >> wrong kind of attention. katy tur. and now to italy and more on the "costa concordia" cruise liner. months after the disaster that killed 32 people it's still off the italian coast. nbc's michelle kosinski got an up-close look at the ship today. michelle, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, savannah, yeah. on the mainland there are preliminary hearings going on for the captain accused of causing this wreck, and this morning the judge said she did not shy it was schettino himself who kept this ship from capsizing and sinking completely but rather divine intervention. you know, when you see it today, to get up close on both sides of this mountainous wreck, it was not what we expected.

this is a view we always see from a distance, but get close to the "costa concordia" now, and this is what nine months of weather and salt will do to a half billion dollar behemoth. it is broken, faded. getting up close to it after ten months doesn't look quite so majestic anymore. very much weathered by the elements. you see lots of rust and algae all around the sides, and then right there in the middle, the gaping hole, that was the swimming pool now removed. workers are surprised how much algae was grown over it, a thick stain beneath a smashed window and the entryways made by rescuers are the same ones they think burglars used to take paintings, clocks off the wall and even the ship's bell has been stolen, but on the other side, a project just as huge and unprecedented on the wreck itself, now operating 20 hours a

day. >> this is beyond any expectation, any wise dreams. i couldn't have imagined anything like this. >> reporter: dwarfed by the hull, workers build a structure over it, also underneath and across the sea floor. >> and this, now resting on the salvage, is a part of the rock that cut that 10-foot gash into the side of the ship. they have managed to pull all the granite boulder out of the gaping hole, but they don't have to seal it because they are installing enormous boxes over the portside, each one seven stories tall, filling them with water will help pull the ship upright and installing them on the other side it will act as giant floats. >> when we roll it over, that is critical, and we know that there will be some structural damage, so hopefully it's nothing worse than predicted. it will be noisy. >> reporter: so much for the

voyage of the cruise liner, towed by four tugs to a scrap yard. at the earliest may and the cost around $4 million. the metal and scrap steel, worth about 80 million. the whole thing is being overseen by an american company. we're talking hundreds of workers. you can see that big blue crane there. at any given time 150 workers are living on it, so why is this taking so long? well, they say it is an extremely delicate operation. it's dangerous on an enormous scale. there are constant weather delays, and they have been trying to protect the environment. savannah? >> all right, michelle kosinski, thank you. now let's get a check of the weather from al. >> today's weather is brought to you by ocean spray. >> good morning, everybody. a brisk clear day here in new york. hopefully where you are. but if you're in the mid-section of the country, you've got to worry about this big system. we've got an upper level low,

surface low and then a combination of the two bringing rain, but behind the system a big deal going on. a lot of windy conditions. we've got high wind warnings. wind advisories and wind watches from the dakotas all the way down into tennessee and mississippi, and then ahead of the system we've got a risk of strong storms today. st. louis, central illinois, all the way down into northern illinois -- northern louisiana. we've got a chance of some tornadoes. a lot of damaging winds and rain. anywhere from 3 to 4 inches of rain up in the northern part of

>> don't forget, get that weather any time you need it. go to weather channel on cable or weather.com. savannah? >> al, thank you. coming up, healthy sounding food that isn't including a salad that's equal to eating ten twinkies. and still ahead, honey boo boo makes the round on television. >> you better redneckognize. een. ladybug body milk? no thanks. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. it's so powerful you can skip a day... but light enough you won't want to. dermatologist recommended eucerin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com.

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...so crispy so juicy so delicious it's your secret to making dinner disappear hellmann's. bring out the best we're back new at 7:42. this morning on eat this, not that, healthy sounding foods that are not very healthy for you. when you look at a menu, what you see is not always what you get. the author of "eat this, not that 2013, the no weight loss diet solution." great to see you. >> great to see you, math. >> you see the word wrap on a menu and rollup on the menu and

you think healthy. not always the case. >> and when studies show you think a food is healthy, you underestimate the call rigs by 40%. and food marketers take advantage of this. they add fruits and vegetables and try to make it sound slim and sexy but it's anything but. >> you always bring great examples. we don't pick on people because we give healthier alternatives at the same places. be a bees oriental chicken rollup. sounds good. >> sounds healthy, but it's basically a carb snuggie for your food. it's got 1,240 calories. okay. that's basically three meals. it's got 62 grams of fat. half a day's worth of saturated fat. >> show the equivalent. >> a full day's worth of sodium and this is the equivalent. nine crunchy taco bell tacos right there. >> applebees has a healthier alternative, creamy parmesan

chicken. >> you do this once a week over the course of a year you'll lose 12 pounds. you have a nice creamy au gratin parmesan sauce, mushroom rice pilaf and spinach, a great alternative from there. >> let's move on to california pizza kitchen, asparagus and spin ash spagatini, you've got chicken, asparagus and spinach, sounds health. >> it's floating on a sea of carbs, ends up being 1,300 calories and the equivalent of these 40 cheese pizza rolls, okay? >> all right. that's a bad thing. >> that's a bad thing. again, it's three meals. it's three meals in one. >> better at california pizza kitchen, the shrimp scampi fettuccine zucchini. >> you're saving 800 calories and a bunch of saturated fat and sodium, too. >> let's move on to ihop, okay?

ihop's chicken and spinach salad. i was reading about this last night. how do they get 1,500 calories in that? >> i don't know. have you to work really, really hard to ruin a salad and ihop has worked really, really hard. request a seat by the defibrillator mat. this 1,500-calorie dish is the equivalent of ten twinkies. >> come to poppa. >> and that's two grams of trans fats in it, too, so they are cooking with that. >> ihop simple and fit grilled balsamic glazed chicken. >> only 440 calories. you end up losing 1,000 calories. >> 90 grams of fat you save and 1,400 milligrams of salt. that's pretty good. >> a huge, huge, huge difference. >> all right. finally, cheesecake factory grilled chicken and avocado club. it didn't sound bad on paper. it doesn't look good on the plate. >> no, no, it's called a club because they beat you over the head with both fat and salt.

you know, this is basically fat to the fourth power. you've got the bacon, the avocado, the swiss, the mayo. it's just multiplying your middle. >> so them what they will get, dave. >> okay. >> we've got 1,560 calories or 52 cups of buttered popcorn. >> all right. >> and the healthy sounding sandwich that isn't. >> go to cheesecake factory order their factory burger, and you're actually going to get a lot less. >> yes. >> all right. david, always good to see you. >> appreciate it. >> and up next, can't believe i'm saying it. the honey boo boo phenomenon hits the road and makes some waves, right after this. and i took nyquil, i have, but i'm still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ male announcer ] sorry. alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast-acting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose. thanks. [ male announcer ] you're welcome.

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and still every guy's go-to for no-fuss style. jcp and izod make it easy, always at a great deal. ♪ it's called bankamerideals, from bank of america. i choose the cash back deals in my mobile or online banking. i just use my bank of america debit or credit card when i pay. put in my account. this is cash back on top of other rewards we already get. and best of all, it's free. friends help friends get deals. pass it on. [ male announcer ] introducing bankamerideals, free for online banking customers. sign in to your online banking to choose your deals today. who doesn't like a good deal? back now at 7:49 with a 7-year-old taking america by storm. honey boo boo's show is among the most watched cable tv. hard to keep a straight face. going to be honest. honey boo boo is drawing more

attention for her latest series of interviews. more now from honey boo boo's hometown. drink when you hear me say honey boo boo. gabe, good morning to you. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. in a state most people haven't seen anyone like honey boo boo, but she is keeping busy endorsing a presidential candidate and beating up on ryan seacrest, sort of. >> horny boo boo child. >> reporter: like it or not, honey boo boo is on a roll. this pillow fight on "access hollywood" part of a media tour following the first season of tlc's "here comes honey boo boo" which premiered in august and ran for eight weeks. during the interview she also took out her aggression on a ryan seacrest doll. >> oh. >> i came out of it thinking this kid needs discipline in a major way. i can't laugh at this. i can't endorse this, but no question it's a phenomenon in

television. >> this is my crazy family! >> reporter: the 7-year-old whose real name is alana thompson first hit is big on another tlc show, "toddlers and tiaras," her unique personality spawned the spinoff. it's filmed in rural georgia east of macon and it documents the life of alona, her mom and dad and three sisters and now she's taking her antics on the road. >> you better redneckognize. >> came a day after "jimmy kimmel live. ". >> the who are you going to support for president, mitt romney or barack obama? >> barack obama? >> so you're supporting barack obama? >> reporter: probably not the endorsement the campaign had in mind but then again this pint-sized star is anything but shy. on los angeles station ktla this week she took the interview in her own direction. are people laughing with you or at you? >> i'm sure there's those who are laughing at us.

we're laughing at ourselves, too. >> reporter: last month even anderson coop her a tough time keeping a straight face. >> you better redneckognize. >> i see were there's problems when you put a 7-year-old child on tv. see the exploitation factor but as a society we're not going to stop doing it. >> reporter: alana's mom is putting the salary in trust funds for each of the kids and donating some of it to charity. >> some goes to our community outreach charities like the ur brand. >> reporter: but for now this pop culture phenomenon is showing no signs of slowing down. tlc has already picked up several more episodes of the show. there are several holiday specials in the works. savannah? >> okay. well, gabe gutierrez, thanks so much. >> she has a lot of confidence, for a little girl her age. >> matt, thoughts? >> nothing good can come out of asking me my thoughts on this. >> shall we move on? >> yeah, it would be good. >> got anything? >> going to take another hit of

the go-go juice. >> just ahead, i'll get my first cooking lesson from bobby flay. he is crazy help. wants me to learn how to make a chicken stock. can't you buy that in a store in a box? >> that's right after your local news. ♪ this is the car that loves to have fun ♪ ♪ mile after mile, to and from ♪ now there are four for all to use ♪ ♪ tell the neighbors, friends, everyone the news ♪ ♪ and let's hum, hum, hum, hum ♪ ♪ let's hum ♪ a prius for everyone ♪ there's a bigger one, if you want more space ♪ ♪ a small one if the city's your place ♪ ♪ and even one you can plug in ♪ so hop on in and give one a spin ♪ ♪ and let's hum, hum, hum, hum ♪ ♪ let's hum ♪ a prius for everyone

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>> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara. here is sarah caldwell and the morning commute. >> still some problems on 95, although things are moving a little bit better. we are down to 23 miles per hour. those stretch back to 100 towards the accident scene. just getting to improve there. we have an accident reported. another one at catonsville, frederick road and maple ave. 29, expects some heavy delays its logo on the north side on the outer loop, 16 miles per

hour towards dulaney valley. southbound j.f.x. from the beltway down to its 28th street, look for delays. 26 miles per hour out of the white marsh area. starting with 95, just south of 100, delays are moving from 100 down to 32. live view of 83 and padonia road, where we looking at heavy back up. southbound traffic is going away from us. it took to the west side is to travel the way down from 795 to edmondson. >> nothing, weather-wise, although it is chilly. we can see some rain on the red, but that is a good distance of to the west. today, just a few high, thin clouds.

high temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees. thursday afternoon and friday morning.

ah, the ghosts of halloween's past, taking a look at some of the getups that we have sported around here. on halloween day in recent years, guess what, we're going to do it all again. we are going to be dressing up for halloween two weeks from today. we do not like to do it alone. we like you to join in the fun, so if you're in the area and you are planning on coming down to the show on halloween morning, dress up. we give away great prizes, and we humiliate ourselves what, could be better? back now, wednesday morning, 17th of october. 8:00. i'm matt lauer on the plaza with savannah guthrie and mr. al

roker. >> like halloween. getting in the spirit. hope i don't have to be a man this year. we'll see. a little hazing ritual. >> hope i don't have to be a woman again this year. happened to me in the past. >> me, too. >> anyway, we'll move on. just ahead, we are going to talk about ethel kennedy. of course, she raised 11 children after her husband robert was assassinated. she opens up in a rare and revealing new interview, a documentary done by none other than her daughter rory. rory and her sister are here, and they will talk about that project coming up in a moment. >> it's fascinating. if you're a parent, how would you like to be told that your child has to transfer to another school, not because of bad behavior or bad grades but because he or she carries the gene for cystic fibrosis, the genetic makeup. a school says it's important for that young man to transfer because it's important to keep all students safe. he says it amounts to bullying. we'll hear from him and his

parents. a very unusual and controversial story. >> wow. and on a much lighter note, savannah going in for her first lesson at cooking school. >> that's right. >> with bobby flay. >> sauces and stocks. already there with the chicken carcass. >> i don't know if you want to call it a carcass? >> that's the technical name. >> absolutely. she's been studying. >> i've been studying. >> come to school, savannah. come on. >> let's go inside. natally is standing by at the news desk with all the headlines. hi, natalie. >> good morning, everyone, we begin with breaking news right now. lance armstrong is stepping down as chairman of his live strong cancer fighting charity. he says he wants to step down as a result to limit the damage from the doping scandal involving him. we'll have much more on this coming up later on. well, fire fighters responding to a bar blaze in denver early today have found five people dead inside. police say the fire is being investigated as an arson and homicide. it left four women and one man dead. the bodies were found in

pharaoh's bar and grill. president obama and challenger mitt romney sparred in their second debate tuesday night. the two rivals laid out sharp contrasts on taxes, energy, health care and foreign policy. polls taken after the contentious debate suggested it ended in a virtual tie. the two men are back on the campaign trail today, obama in iowa and romney meanwhile in virginia. a 10-year-old girl kidnapped and murdered in colorado earlier this month was remembered at a tearful memorial. noebz's miguel almaguer has more from broomfield, colorado. good morning, miguel. >> reporter: natalie, good morning. as police search for jessica ridgeway's kill, the memorials and tributes for the 10-year-old grow larger every day. last night thousands gathered one more time to say good-bye. a celebration of life, a moving memorial for jessica ridgeway, the fifth grader who never made it to school. >> jessica was one of the happiest kids i've ever known. she loved to play with the kittens and beat up her cousins.

>> i love you so much. >> reporter: the 10-year-old who loved her dog always laughed and had that infectious smile and was remembered by thousands in a tearful service. >> we love you, jessica, and we'll miss you every day. >> reporter: so many touched by her story, her short life. family, friends and strangers all together to say good-bye. >> no matter where you sit, it is easy to see how cherished and love our baby girl was. >> reporter: jessica vanished nearly two weeks ago, abducted as she walked to school, her dismembered body discovered days later in a rural open area seven miles from her home. >> the phone is still ringing. people are still calling. people still believe they have information that's vital to this case. >> reporter: tuesday night there was no talk about a suspect. instead, shared heartbreak and overwhelming grief for the little girl who will never come home. >> i cannot have joy and relief in my heart because she's safe

and sound in a place where no one can ever hurt her. >> reporter: there are no suspects in this case, but police are following thousands of leads. investigators from 12 different agencies are all working together to solve jessica's murder. natalie? >> just horrible heartbreak there in broomfield, colorado. thank you, miguel. now brian williams with a look at what's coming up on "nbc nightly news." >> natalie, good morning. coming up on "nightly news," look all week what's the alternative where medicine is concerned? tonight we take a look at multi-vitamins. almost half of all americans take them. what do they really do? can they help with serious diseases? that and more when we see you tonight. for now, natalie, back for you. >> thank you, brian. now a look at what's trending. today our quick roundup of what has you talking online. this viral video of a slingshot style roller coaster already has over 300,000 views. it shows a daring and scared

young man. the young man looks totally confused when he starts coming back to reality a few seconds later. by then the ride was over. nbc news had the artists draw what president and mitt romney talked about during last negotiate's presidential debate and the result is. this time lapse video, everything from tax breaks to big bird. can you see the entire video on today.com. it is fascinating. and the brothers who shot the youtube fame in charlie bit my finger are back in what else but a food commercial. ♪ charlie bit your finger like a rabid possum because dad kept filming because he thought it was awesome ♪ ♪ ragu, growing up tough >> at least charlie is getting nutrition, not biting his brother's finger anymore. 8:06. let's get back out to al with a check of the weather. >> thanks so much.

a brand new teenager. 13. what's your name? >> kyle. >> kyle, where you from? >> atlanta. >> atlanta, very good. what are you doing to celebrate? >> going to new york and seeing all the sights. >> very good. let's check it out. the pick city happens to be memphis, tennessee. look for afternoon storms. keep watching wmc-tv 5 with the latest on that. 84 degrees for a high. wet weather making its way through the gulf and rain across the eastern great lakes. we've got a risk of strong storms today stretching from central illinois all the way down into louisiana, and we look to maybe isolated tornadoes in those storms. east coast looks fantastic. plenty of sunshine and heat continues southwest into

>> are we on tv? oh, well you didn't -- nobody warned me. i was saying hi, everybody. i guess we're on tv. do the tease. okay. coming up next, we'll have a rare and revealing look at ethel kennedy, the mother of 11 children, and her daughter rory profiles her in a new documentary. we'll catch up with them next. [ male announcer ] oh, take one sign.

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ask your rheumatologist about humira, to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage before they stop you. and we're back now at 8:12. there are hundreds of books and movies about the kennedy family but perhaps none as personal as a new documentary produced and narrated by rory kennedy about her mom, ethel. >> my father, robert f. kennedy, died on june 6th, 1968, more than 40 years ago. i'm rory, his last and 11th child. because i was born six months after my father's death, i never had a chance to know him. i was raised by my mother, ethel kennedy. i found myself wanting to tell my mother's story about the life she shared with daddy and the life she shared with us, her

children. >> and rory kennedy is with us now along with her sister kerry. she's the president of the robert f. kennedy center for justice and human rights. ladies, good to have you both here this morning. good morning. >> good to be here. >> i know over the years when you've been recognized for things or introduced for things you're almost always described as the daughters of robert f. kennedy and no one ever mentions your mom. is that one of the reasons you decided to do this movie, to pay a little tribute to your mom? >> it's true. there's been a lot of focus on my father over the years, and, of course, he deserves that, but, you know, my mother raised us all and has been around for the last 40 years and has made such a huge contribution, and her story really hasn't been told. she hasn't ever done a book or done an extensive interview. >> i don't know your mom and yet i was surprised she agreed to go along with this. >> i was shocked. >> how did you convince her to do this? >> you know, i just called and asked her. this is an idea that hbo came up

to do this film, and i was frankly a little resistant. i figured my mother would say no, and she surprised me and said yes. >> let's show a little clip from the very beginning of the documentary when you're sitting down to do an interview with your mom. >> why should i have to answer all these questions? >> well, we're making a documentary about you. >> a bad idea. >> but she went along and she answered the questions. was it hard to push your mom to dig? she's 84, and some of these are very sensitive subjects. >> well, my mother doesn't particularly like to talk about herself or kind of reflect on the past. she's very much somebody who lives in the present, so i don't think this was her comfort zone, and, yeah, it was hard for that reason. >> kerry, when your mom is asked often about your accomplishments as a family, as a group of children, she often says, well,

that probably is the other gene referring to your dad. why do you think she takes such an emotional back seat when it comes to situations like that? >> you know, i think that she's a funny combination. she's incredibly humble woman, and yet she's so dynamic and she's so strong and mighty as well. so i think that's, you know, probably part of her catholic upbringing. >> any discussion of your family, rory, has to include some of the tragedies this family has been through. you wait until almost an hour into the documentary before bringing up the subject of your uncle's assassination and wait until the very end of the movie to even bring up the subject of your own father's assassination, why so long considering it had such a dramatic impact on your lives and our lives as well? >> yeah. the film is really told mostly chronologically so it's just the natural place for those moments

in the course of the film to kind of tell it. >> and when you talk to your mom about you say to her simply and then we lost daddy. >> yeah. >> hard to -- >> it was hard. it was hard. i was anxious, and part of my reservation of doing this film in the first place is i didn't want to have to ask those questions of my mother or my siblings because i know it's uncomfortable for them to talk about it personally let alone publicly. >> you talk about the story about how you found out about your father's assassination. in a hotel room, and you turn on the tv wanting to watch cartoons. >> yeah. >> and hear the news that your dad had been assassinated. even when it's the questions coming from your sister, how do you handle that question? >> you know, with authenticity and raw honesty which is why i was crying, which i don't normally do in an interview. but rory is there. she's an amazing filmmaker. this film is really extraordinary. it's a beautiful tribute to my

mother and also i think for all americans and people around the world, it's a tribute to family, too, and what family means. rory did a great, great job. >> kerry, i have you here i have to ask you a question about some recent headlines with you. you were involved in a traffic incident. you were arrested after police found you somewhat disoriented on a highway not far from here. you still may face a trial in this. do you think your name, your family name has hurt you in this situation? >> well, you know, i think what happened to me is the same thing that happened to tom brokaw. like him i took a sleeping medication by mistake instead of an ambien -- excuse me, instead of a thyroid medication. there was no alcohol found, and so we're moving ahead with that. it was an accident. and i think, that you know, this is part and parcel of the thing that comes along with my name and my family, but so much has been given to us, and it's so

wonderful that we can talk about our family, you know in, rory's film. >> i would just like to add to that that kerry is such an extraordinary human rights activist and has had so much great accomplishments with her life and that she can continue in the work that she is doing is really important, and she's just such an extraordinary person and it was such an accident that i think anybody could experience, so, you know. >> you guys make a good team. anyway. >> sisters. rory, thank you so much. kerry, nice to see you. >> thank you. great to see you. >> the dumentary "ethel" airs thursday night on hbo. up next, a boy ordered to move to another school because of his genetic makeup. that story is coming up right after this. this is how mommy learned...

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>> fine with me, as long as you're in one of them. >> tyler perry joins us now. >> pretty intense. >> this is not the tyler perry we're used to. this is not medea. >> not medea. >> what was it like to stretch your wings as an actor and do something different in. >> super exciting because when you say james patterson because everybody loves these james patterson books, alex cross. this character has such an arc. had a chance to do a lot of different things, a lot of drama and fun and family and also a lot of action so it was great. >> a lot of different things. normally we see you writing, producing, directing. was it refreshing for a change? were you really focusing on the acting in. >> a good vacation. i'm a good leader but also a follower and i let the director sit back and do his thing so it was really great. >> any doubt inside when you came into this can i be an action star? >> i looked at it as the arc of the character. one thing i looked at is morgan freeman. played god in the movie. you don't ever go behind god in a movie but once i realized i have to do the best tyler perry

playing alex cross, it worked out all right and it let go. >> you didn't ask morgan freeman for pointers. >> the man played god. how do you call god and say can you give me pointers? no, i didn't call him about it. i didn't call him about it. >> we mentioned it is a little bit darker material than you're usually doing. do you think fans will be willing to accept you in a role like that? >> you know, what i love about my audience, and this is what's great, is that we like all kind of things. it's not just comedy but thrillers and suspense. so, yeah, i'm pretty excited about having an opportunity to do something different and i'm hoping that they will. >> we see you in "the family man" and working with sicily tyson again. >> that's great. >> you mentioned to the producers it's nice to see an african-american man in this kind of role, a good role model. >> yeah. i think it's still very, very important. he's a family man and works very hard, and i just think it speaks to a lot of our children just seeing it and knowing that they can do the same thing. >> well, talk about role model. you are on the cover of "men's

health" magazine. >> isn't that something? >> because you lost 30 pounds. you look fabulous. >> thank you very much. >> how did this all come about? >> when i started doing the mov movie that's kind of like ufc, really got into it and dropping a lot of weight. >> wow. >> like wow. >> what is that? >> it's israeli fighting, mixed martial arts, really great, but it's a kick ass work out. can i say ass this early in the morning? >> you just don't. we don't have a seven-second delay. a kick arse workout. >> a kick arse. next, a couple of projects with own, oprah winfrey's network. >> we're going to start off with two shows and we're working on a drama and a sitcom. >> and medea, tell me. >> as long as people want to see medea she will be around, but right now it's about alex cross. >> thanks so much for the

wrap-up. >> you were supposed to give meet wrap-up signal. >> getting the ten seconds. >> go see alex cross, five, four. >> we're out of time. that's it. >> opens . >> good morning. i am mindy basara. teare is sarah caldwell. >> northbound 95 just past caton avenue, getting word of an accident there. there are delays as a result of that. inner loop of baltimore national pike and accident outer loop delays stretch back to reisterstown road. if you want to head out on the average of just prior to perring parkway, we have an accident just in. delays stretch back to 95 on the northeast corner. pulaski highway, watch for an

accident there. j.f.x. delays from the beltway to its 28th street. southbound 95 out of the northeast, expect to be slow. here is a crook live look at traffic -- quick live look at traffic coming towards us is the outer loop delay. adding to the delay is the outer loop accident prior to perring parkway. security boulevard, we are holding on to the west side delay is. >> you can see the high, thin cloud deck on it traffic cameras there. overall, it will be a nice one. 36 in frederick, 44 in jarrettsville. no way around does at the present time. we can see showers of to our west in zero it should and michigan. -- ohio and michigan. high temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees this afternoon. clouds will thicken up tomorrow.

40% chance for a few showers in the afternoon. >> back with another update at 8:56.

8:30 now on this wednesday morning, the 17th of october, 2012. a crisp fall day here in rockefeller plaza. we have a great crowd kicking off the day with us. coming up, bobby flay is here. we are going to have cooking lesson number one. i guess we're starting so basic we're going to learn how to make some stock and some sauce. >> okay. >> and we're building to the crescendo, if you will. >> on friday. >> of when i cook for you

friday. >> suddenly there's a flurry of day off requests. >> yeah. also ahead, how about this. a real whodunit in the art world. a massive art heist. some masterpieces taken right off the wall of a museum, and a lot of people are wondering was this an inside job? we're going to tell you the latest on that. >> the paintings were inside, weren't they? >> i liked it. >> a woman who dared to dream overcoming some huge obstacles to find her life calling as a model later in life. jane pauly is here to share her remarkable story. and then an idea being considered in one country that i think your kids will love. how about no homework? >> parents would love that, too. >> yeah, yeah, exactly. coming up, the professionals will chew over that and figure out. >> this is one day a week though, right? >> yes. >> i think it's one day a week. >> that's a start. >> did i give it away? >> i think it's just one day a week, not bad.

>> first let's get a check of the weather, for all days of the week, please. >> let's show you what we've got going on. beautiful day in the east along the mid-atlantic coast. rough weather in the lower to mid-mississippi river valley with a risk of thunderstorms. wet weather up in the upper mississippi river valley. tomorrow that rain moves into the east coast with a slight risk along the southeastern atlantic coast. wet weather and windy weather around the great lakes. rain moves back into the pacific northwest. the heat continues from texas nu

>> don't forget get that weather any time you need it. go to the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. always good advice. coming up, one school's very controversial decision to ask a boy to change schools because he has the genetic markers for cystic fibrosis. we're going to hear that story, but first, this is "today" on nbc.

>> 8:35. a flack in a call class over an 11-year-old boy in palo alto, california. he's been told he has to transfer to a new school because he's the carrier of the gene for cystic fibrosis, but his parents are fighting back saying administrators are overreacting with the story. here's nbc's mike taibbi. >> reporter: if you're 11 years old, what core more potentially traumatic being the new kid in school and being told as you're settling in that you have to

transfer to yet another school? that's what happened to sixth grader colman chadmon seven weeks into the school year. >> i was sad but at the same time i was mad because i understood i haven't done anything wrong. >> reporter: colman is a non-estimate matic carrier of the gene for cystic fibrosis, an incurrable genetic disease of the lungs and pancreas that leads to early onset respiratory failure. at present some 30,000 americans suffer from the disease. most diagnosed as children. their average live expectancy, 37 years. >> cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease so you are born with it, and it is not contagious. >> reporter: doctors say fc patients can pose dangers to each other through bacterial cross-contamination, coughing or close contact and because palo alto's jordan middle school already had a student with cf before colman arrived, the district, assistant superintendent charles young told nbc news, relied on medical authorities who said a literal physical distance must be

constantly maintained between cf patients. the zero risk option, young told us, was to transfer colman to another school that's three miles away. his parents home schooling their son now have gone to court to try to reverse that decision. >> why take a child who is new to the district, who is just making friends, who is just building a support network, who is getting to know and liking his teachers, who has been well his whole life, why stigmatize him? >> colman has attended two other schools with cf children. it has never been an issue, ever. >> reporter: in some other schools cf patients are kept in separate classrooms and follow other safety guidelines preventing close contact, but here's what the doctor specializes in cf told us. >> in general, we would prefer that there not be, you know, more than one cystic fibrosis patient in a school. >> reporter: there will be a court hearing next week to see if colman chadmon will start

where he began the year or if the transfer will stand. he says being pulled out of school makes him feel less than normal. >> feels like that i'm being bull any a way that's not right. >> reporter: his case an illustration that a hallmark of incurable diseases is how much about them remains uncertain. for "today" mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. >> for more on the story we turn to nancy snyderman, and star jones, a doctor and lawyer. as you saw in the piece, he has the genetic marker for cystic fibrosis. >> right. >> let's be clear. does not have cystic fibrosis, but the question is does the genetic marker mean you might get cystic fibrosis? >> one of the cases where the science has left ahead of the definition. we all have pre-existing conditions. he is a marker. it's no more likely for him to get cystic fibrosis now than you having a marker for a certain cancer and living your whole

life without it. the idea behind segregating these kids you is don't want them to get secondary infections because they have problems with lungs and with their guts, and they are more at risk for infections. i just want to underscore he doesn't have cystic fibrosis so this was anal you fought out decision in the beginning. >> just to cleat the thought. you don't have too many cystic fibrosis kids in the school which are in the vicinity of one another. >> right. >> what about a cystic fibrosis child and one with a genetic marker, any danger there in. >> no, i don't think so. the whole concern is to keep the kids healthy. i would make the argument that kids walking around that haven't been vaccinated pose a greater risk to a child with a compromised immune system. >> let bring star on this. can a public school decide unilaterally to transfer a student out? >> not without due process. this is the first time i can

remember where medically and legally they have done the wrong thing across the board. you're looking at a kid that, one, he doesn't have a disease so there was no due process to find out what his actual medical condition was. two, if he had a disease, then he would have an issue on the american with disabilities act so you're screwed one way and the other >> i was going to ask you who thought it was a violation of the ada if he does not -- if he's not disabled. >> right. >> because he doesn't have the illness. >> you can't have it both ways. can you not deny his ability to be in the school without due process and then not use due process pretending that he has this disease. >> seems like this is a school acting in abundance of caution, caring, of course, about the children in the school being healthy but frankly probably worried about a lawsuit down the road if the other child gets sick. >> this is a preemptive strike. they don't want to exacerbate's this child's death by one extra day. >> does underscore to parent,

anything you put down on a nursing or doctor forms, can it come back to hurt you. >> it's the parents who offered the information. >> but never in a way that they thought it would hurt them. up next, a woman who found her life calling and proves that beauty is ageless. coming up, the ageless beauty jane pauly has her story, but first this is "today" on nbc. hundred and eighty million dollars for maryland schools. that's a lot of money. my classroom. games and a new casino for maryland. million more for education every year. the money goes where it's supposed to. it's the law. this is about our kids. this is about better schools. seven. i'm voting for question seven. i'm voting for question seven.

as a pastor, my support for question 6 is rooted in my belief that the government should treat everyone equally. i would not want someone denying my rights based upon their religious views, therefore i should not deny others based upon mine. it's about fairness. this law does not force any church to perform a same sex marriage if it's against their beliefs. and that's what this is about. protecting religious freedom and protecting all marylanders equally under the law. join me in voting for question 6. we're back now. 8:43 with your life calling today. today contributor jane pauly has been working with aarp which has produced and sponsored the series of reports for us. we're happy about that. jane, good morning. >> good morning, matt. a top model is said to be aging

out of her career when she hits 23, but not only is dawn just getting started in modeling at 50, but she wears a pacemaker. here she is with her life calling. >> dawn nakamura kesler of denver is a 5'8" stunner. >> oh, my. that's some dress. >> every girl should have a red dress once in their life. >> she's hardly a girl, though it's hard to tell exactly how old dawn is. honestly, how old do you think that woman looks in this picture? >> she looks like she's 37 and feels like she's 25, that she's got the mind of a 50-year-old. >> modeling at 50 was a long shot, but dawn's whole life is a story of beating the odds. in her 20s dawn had open heart

surgery, twice. a childhood bout of rheumatic fever severely damaged her heart. what did you think your life span would likely be? >> let's toss in the pacemaker, the cardiac arrest and the two ca cardiac -- >> after she married and had a baby dawn decided to be a full-time mom because she didn't know how much time she would have. >> so many times when he was a boy growing up i was in the hospital. i was missing things. i couldn't even take him for his driver's license. my only goal was to see my son graduate from high school. >> just when dawn needed a new goal, a skin caroline launched an ad campaign featuring real women, making the final round was confidence-building. >> this is my last chance and don't want to be at the end of

my life and look back and go, gosh, why didn't i try to model? >> but her first local go-see was a test. >> i'm so, so they are vows, and i'm seeing all these gals. they looked like they were between 16 and 20, girls that my son would date. i almost picked up my phone and called my agent is this like the right place and i thought no, no, no, i'm going to do it. i get to the table and the art director is like, oh, my gosh, you're gorgeous. you're perfect for the shoot. >> don't move. >> it didn't matter that sometimes she has to cover ugly bruises, a side effect of heart medication. >> a little bit more. >> or that she has a scar down the center of her chest. she gets jobs. >> i think that my smile can distract from the wrinkles. my eyes and my smile just radiate and show really who i am. >> but her heart condition is very real, too. >> this is your mitral valve.

>> she works hard to keep fit for her health and career, but it's worth it. >> this is like a bonus, to be alive, and i didn't think i'd have this time. this is what 50 is supposed to feel like, i'm pretty darn lucky. >> even her mixed ethnicity is an asset. >> i'm japanese, danish, spanish, black, east indian. this is what america looks like, and whether it's modeling or anything else, i mean, it just feels like life is beginning and i don't think all of my wonderfuls have happened yet. >> dawn's age is actually a plus now. marketers are finally getting it, that older consumers still have what it takes, buying power. the reality check. 18 months ago dawn flat lined with full cardiac arrest, but as long as she lives she is determined to live. join me at 10:00 a.m. eastern on my internet call-in radio show

at aarp.org/jane. matt. >> another for the highlight reel. i liked that one. >> thank you. >> coming up next, bobby flay teaches savannah the baseishings that every cook needs to know, where the fire extinguisher is. come on. this is "today" on nbc. so

as a pastor, my support for question 6 is rooted in my belief that the government should treat everyone equally. i would not want someone denying my rights based upon their religious views, therefore i should not deny others based upon mine. it's about fairness. this law does not force any church to perform a same sex marriage if it's against their beliefs. and that's what this is about. protecting religious freedom and protecting all marylanders equally under the law. join me in voting for question 6. back now at 8:49 with "savannah's cooking school."

as you know, bobby flay is teaching me the ropes. this week we're starting with the basics, the very basics, a good stock and homemade tomato sauce. bobby says these are the keys to so much delicious dishes. bobby, really. i have to ask you. >> yeah. >> why would i do all this with the chicken stock if i could go to the store and get it in a box? >> well, first of all, homemade chicken stock is something really easy to do, the basis of all cooking, the first thing you learn to make in a cooking school, or in a basic cook ever had book. if you buy stock in a store there's a lot of sodium in it and sugar and not natural gels that you get from the bones of the chicken. >> okay. >> a good thing to know, savannah. let's just start. >> all right. >> i want you to cut that onion in half. be very careful. i see where your thumb s.gets me nervous right away. >> put the onion, the whole thing, right in the stock pot. >> nothing in it.

with the peel on and everything. >> you'll get the nice golden hue from the peel. carrots and celery, already cut those for you. >> that would have taken me 20 minutes. >> carrots and celery. >> and chicken bones. >> are these the chicken bones? >> this looks -- doesn't look that boney to me. >> those are the chicken bones. >> okay. >> where do they come from? >> i jumped ahead. let's start with this. this is a whole chicken and these are the chicken bones. >> did you take the bones out of the chicken? >> when you take the breast or the thighs or legs off you save the carcasses, and then you can throw hem right into the stock pot. okay. >> like, if you think i'm going to do anything with chicken carcasses we don't know each other that well. >> if you buy a whole chicken and take the breast off to cook you want to use it and get some stock market. put the whole chicken in there as well. are these the chicken bones. >> get out of here. >> can tell you this isn't going

perfectly. >> you didn't go to the boneless chicken farm. >> i need to concentrate. >> fresh thyme and parsley, the whole thing. >> yeah. >> do you know what that is? >> black peppercorn and bay leaves. >> why no salt? >> good question. >> thank you. >> could you get me some water. >> how much, a whole pitcher? >> fill the pitcher up. you don't put salt in stock because when you utilize the stock for like a sauce or a soup, you're going to season it at the end. if you put too much salt in the stock beforehand you can't take it out. >> more water? >> yes. just to cover the chicken bones, and that's it. >> i have to tell me i'm confused where the bone came from. >> that's enough. >> okay. >> i felt like i was doing well with this. >> simple rule of thumb. >> when you take the bones out of the chicken, does it hurt the chicken? >> what about the chicken? >> depends who is doing it. >> this is perfect. the same amount of water to chicken and chicken bone and this way you'll get a really

nice rich flavor from the chicken stock. >> right. >> how long do you think we cook this for? >> an hour. >> three hours. >> three hours. >> i'm going to be starving. >> but you're not going to be, you're standing here watching the stock boil. okay. bring it to a boil and turn it down to a simmer because you don't want to lose any volume. >> is this simmering or boiling? >> simmering. boiling, really rapid. >> after three hours strain it out through cheese cloth and you get this beautiful broth. this is an amazing product because you can make soups with it, stocks with it and it's the important most thing for the big holiday coming up called thanksgiving where you -- >> when i call presto. >> let's go to the tomato sauce. >> hey, bobby what, part of the cheese does the cloth -- >> tomato sauce, i can understand why you make it, peanut gallery. >> how you cut an onion, like i did before. >> hold on, hold on, held on. >> fingers. >> exactly. first thing we'll do is chop an

onion. take the peel off first, all right. take the peel off. >> want to see how i would do it. i usually do like this, pull it right off, usually, once in a decade when i cook. like this. >> get the peel off completely. >> oh, shoot, i should have had you do it. >> want me to finish it for you. >> yeah, you do it. >> bobby will be able to come over every day. grab a knife. i'll give you half of this onion, okay? follow my lead. >> okay. >> be really careful. you want to -- you want to just make slices right down this. turn the onion the other way and make slices straight down. >> wait, i'm left-handed. >> does that matter? >> put it in your left hand. >> it feels bet they are way? >> really. >> so just go like this. i'm not cutting all the way tlucht don't watch me, watch the onion. >> am i cutting all the way

through? >> and keep moving your fingers as the knife gets closer. >> i'm not stupid. and don't slice off your thumb. thank you for pointing that out. >> we want the sauce to be red because of the tomatoes. >> okay. >> then you take the knife this way. >> okay. >> and kind of move it all the way to the end but keep the onion intact. >> how long does it take to chop an onion? >> how many lawyers. >> sometimes we need a calendar. >> i like the word -- please watch the onion and not me. >> i'm watching the onion. >> are we making something? >> how much liability? >> i think it's thanksgiving already. >> stop. >> now you have actually a nice diced onion. not perfect. >> do you ever do that, sometimes i do that? >> don't get cocky. >> okay. >> so for a tomato sauce, only a few ingredients. so what i have is onions and

garlic, okay, and i let this sweat, so to speak, as oppose to saute. sweat means we'll saute it without color. >> we only have 30 seconds. >> put the tomatoes in here. >> all of them, with the juice and everything. >> i hope this isn't your favorite outfit. >> canned tomatoes. >> basil, that goes in the end. >> take the potato masher and crush the tomatoes. after 15 -- after about 15 minutes the tomatoes will >> this is wbal-tv 11 news in baltimore. >> here is a look at one of our top stories. and owings mills high school student faces charges after he was seen carrying a bb gun. police were called after several students reported seeing a student with some sort of weapon. security cameras help police

identify the student. investigators say h

>> it will turn out to be a nice day. a little chilly this morning. it will climb into the upper 60s with a mixture of sunshine and clouds. a few showers in the afternoon. >> back with another weather update at 9:25.

it's heavy lifting. you start with a democratic senator named ben. by getting bwi-marshall funding for new runways, he's helping us serve 21 million passengers a year, which helps keep 100,000 jobs that depend on the airport, and that means more cargo for more businesses and more skycaps unloading more taxis... welcome to bwi. ...carrying families with more luggage. thanks. it's like he's out here with us. he's my friend, ben. i hope he's your friend, too. i'm ben cardin, and i approve this message.